David Sidney George Lewiston (11 May 1929 – 29 May 2017) was a London-born
collector of the world's traditional music. He is best known for his recordings initially released on LP on the
Explorer Series of
Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, No ...
beginning in 1967.
Biography
He earned a graduate degree in 1953 from
Trinity College of Music
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...
in London, where he studied piano, conducting, orchestration, harmony, and
counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tra ...
. He later studied composition in New York City with
Thomas de Hartmann
Thomas Alexandrovich de Hartmann (russian: Фома́ Алекса́ндрович Га́ртман; October 3 .S.: September 21 1884March 28, 1956) was a Ukrainian-born composer, pianist and professor of composition.
Life
De Hartmann was born o ...
, who had been a devotee of
G. I. Gurdjieff. For more than a decade he served as one of the musicians at the Gurdjieff Foundation, New York. Finding it difficult to make a living as a musician he worked as a journalist for more than a decade but abandoned it to return to music, travelling widely to record traditional music.
His first recordings were made in
Bali
Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and ...
in 1966, and the initial album from these recordings, ''Music from the Morning of the World'', was released in 1967. He has made extensive recordings of
Tibetan Buddhist
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
rituals, most notably of the chordal chanting of
Gyuto Tantric University (one of the great colleges of the
Gelug
240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodhgaya (India).">Bodh_Gaya.html" ;"title="Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya">Bodhgaya (India).
The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuou ...
pa, the Established Church of Tibetan Buddhism), and the
Drukpa Kagyu
The Drukpa Kagyu (), or simply Drukpa, sometimes called either Dugpa or "Red Hat sect" in older sources, rituals of
Khampagar Gompa, as well as music from many other countries, including
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
,
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
,
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
,
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...
and
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
,
Jammu
Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...
and
Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
,
Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu a ...
and
Lahul, Himachal Pradesh in India's West Himalaya,
Gilgit
Gilgit (; Shina: ; ur, ) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit River and the Hunza River. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a ...
and
Hunza in Pakistan's
North-West Frontier Province
The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followi ...
,
Darjeeling
Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nep ...
and
Sikkim
Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Sil ...
in the East Himalaya, the
Republic of Georgia, and
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...
.
His recordings of the '60s and '70s were made at a significant juncture, when lightweight portable recording equipment had matured sufficiently to allow excellent recordings to be made in remote places, and just before the traditional music of these places suffered the ravages of globalisation.
He lived in
Maui
The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, whic ...
, Hawaii, where he was working on archiving his recordings and other materials collected during his life's work. Lewiston died 29 May 2017, aged 88 at a hospice centre in
Wailuku, Hawaii
Wailuku is a census-designated place (CDP) in and county seat of Maui County, Hawaii, United States. The population was 17,697 at the 2020 census.
Wailuku is located just west of Kahului, at the mouth of the Iao Valley. In the early 20th cent ...
.
Recordings
Releases
*''Ladakh – Songs & Dances From The Highlands of Western Tibet'' (LP) Nonesuch, 1977.
*''Tibetan Buddhism – Shartse College of Ganden Monastery'' (CD) Bridge, 1989
*''Kecak: A Balinese Music Drama – Kecak Ganda Sari'' (CD) Bridge, 1990
Production
*''Japan: Traditional Vocal & Instrumental Music – Shakuhachi, Biwa, Koto, Shamisen'' (LP) Nonesuch 1976.
*''Japan: Kabuki & Other Traditional Music'' (LP) Nonesuch, 1980.
*''Japan: Shakuhachi – The Japanese Flute'' (CD, Album, RE) Nonesuch, 1991.
*''Trance 1: Sufi Dervish Rite / Tibetan Overtone Chant / Indian Dhrupad'' (CD, Har) Ellipsis Arts, 1995.
*''Trance 2: Naqshbandi Sufis / Healing And Trance In Morocco / Balinese Temple Festival'' (CD, Har) Ellipsis Arts, 1995.
Appears On
*''Music From The Morning Of The World: The Balinese Gamelan'' (LP) Nonesuch, 1967.
*''Golden Rain – Balinese Gamelan Music And Ketjak: The Ramayana Monkey Dance'' (LP) Nonesuch, 1969.
*''The Jasmine Isle: Javanese Gamelan Music'' (LP) Nonesuch, 1969.
*''The Nonesuch Explorer – Music From Distant Corners Of The World – Treasures Of The Explorer Series'' (2xLP, Comp)
*''Tibetan Buddhism – Tantras Of Gyütö: Mahakala'' (LP) Nonesuch, 1973.
*
Ram Narayan
Ram Narayan (; born 25 December 1927), often referred to with the title Pandit, is an Indian musician who popularised the bowed instrument ''sarangi'' as a solo concert instrument in Hindustani classical music and became the first internation ...
, ''
Master of the Sarangi – Classical Music of India'' (LP) Nonesuch, 1975.
*''Tibetan Buddhism – Tantras of Gyütö: Sangwa Düpa'' (LP) Nonesuch, 1975.
*''Japan: Traditional Vocal & Instrumental Music – Shakuhachi, Biwa, Koto, Shamisen'' (LP) Nonesuch, 1976.
*''Tibetan Buddhism – The Ritual Orchestra And Chants'' (LP) Nonesuch, 1976.
*''Japan: Kabuki & Other Traditional Music'' (LP) Nonesuch, 1980.
*''China: Music Of The Pipa'' (CD, Album, RE) Nonesuch, 1991.
*''Trance 1: Sufi Dervish Rite / Tibetan Overtone Chant / Indian Dhrupad'' (CD) Jigje Kyi Dagjug Chenm. Ellipsis Arts, 1995.
*''Trance 2: Naqshbandi Sufis / Healing And Trance In Morocco / Balinese Temple Festival'' (CD) Ellipsis Arts, 1995.
*''Music From The Morning Of The World – The Balinese Gamelan'' (CD, RE) WEA Japan, Nonesuch, 1996.
*''Bali – Music From The Morning Of The World'' (CD, Album, RE) Nonesuch, 2003.
*''South America – Black Music In Praise Of Oxalá And Other Gods'' (CD, Comp) Nonesuch, 2003.
*''Kingdom Of The Sun – Peru's Inca Heritage'' (LP, Comp) Nonesuch.
References
External links
David Lewiston interviewDavid Lewiston article
from Nonesuch Records
David Lewiston obituaryRemembering David Lewiston podcast
on WNYC Newsounds program, 17 November May 2019
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewiston, David
1929 births
2017 deaths
Alumni of Trinity College of Music
Collectors from London
English folk-song collectors
Nonesuch Records
People from Maui